Zack Godley will go to Diamondbacks bullpen, per Lovullo

By Kevin Zimmerman | April 30, 2019 at 2:50 pmUPDATED: April 30, 2019 at 3:06 pm

Zack Godley #52 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers a first inning pitch against the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field on April 27, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Zack Godley will move from a starting role to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ bullpen after his struggles through six starts, manager Torey Lovullo told Burns & Gambo on Tuesday.

Arizona is undecided who will take Godley’s place in the rotation.

“We love the options we have. We feel like we have some real good internal options in terms of internal development,” Lovullo said on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

One potential option, Triple-A Reno starter Jon Duplantier, will not be available for 10 days after he was called up and optioned back to the minors after pitching for the D-backs on Sunday.

An off-day on Monday and another on Thursday after the D-backs host a two-game series against the New York Yankees will allow Lovullo and his staff some time to name a replacement and the ability to switch around the rotation.

Through six starts, Godley has a 7.58 ERA with 25 strikeouts to 18 walks. The right-hander lasted just 2.2 innings and allowed five earned runs on Saturday in his last game, a 9-1 Arizona loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Godley had met with Lovullo and the staff about his struggles a few weeks ago, Lovullo said.

“Obviously strike-throwing ability is a huge thing,” Lovullo said of the issues discussed. “To me he became very one-dimensional. He has an exceptional curveball with spin rate and it was a pitch that was really, really good for a long time, but I thought major league hitters were holding onto it.”

Lovullo said that Godley must work on his stride direction, hand speed, arm speed and finish with pitching coach Mike Butcher.

“We talked about not trying to reinvent the wheel here and maybe simplify it to one or two things,” Lovullo added.